1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of controlling a digital image processing apparatus, and a digital image processing apparatus employing the method, and more particularly, to a method of controlling a digital image processing apparatus for detecting a face from continuously input images and a digital image processing apparatus employing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional digital image processing apparatuses have a function of detecting a face from continuously input images.
This face detection function is widely used in digital cameras, security surveillance devices, robots moving in response to a facial movement, and automatic devices.
An example of a digital image processing apparatus is a digital camera that detects a face in a live-view mode and sets a region of the detected face as an automatic focusing area.
The face detection function, in most cases, is accomplished by only well known face recognition methods.
Various face recognition technologies are disclosed as face recognition methods. For example, face recognition technology, using geometrical characteristics of a face, recognizes a face of an individual using geometrical factors, such as positions and sizes of facial feature points, such as center of the eyes, tip of the nose, and mouth corners, and distances between the facial feature points. The geometrical characteristics of a face are included in elements finally remaining when a resolution of an input image is decreased.
However, if a face is detected by only using a face recognition method, a face cannot be detected when the face to be recognized is not oriented to a capturing unit.